ERIC Number: EJ1055236
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-9289
EISSN: N/A
Dyadic Collaboration among Preschool-Age Children and the Benefits of Working with a More Socially Advanced Peer
Park, Jeongeon; Lee, Jeonghwa
Early Education and Development, v26 n4 p574-593 2015
Research Findings: This study examined the learning effects of collaborative group work under heterogeneous group composition among 5-year-old children, especially in terms of their social skills. To this end, the study utilized an experimental research design wherein 3 groups of differently composed dyads and a group of students who worked alone completed classification and perspective-taking tasks. The dyads consisted of a low-ability child and either a socially advanced, an intellectually advanced, or a (both) socially and intellectually advanced peer. First, we found that children with high ability and those with low ability in collaborative dyads had higher learning gains than singletons. This finding supports the benefits of collaborative learning for experts as well as novices and the effectiveness of mixed-ability groupings for young children's learning. Second, we observed that low-ability children working with socially advanced partners, even partners with low cognitive ability, showed significantly greater improvement in the perspective-taking task than those working with a cognitively advanced but socially less skilled partner. We discuss the findings in terms of the relation between executive function and social competence and emphasize the value of social skills in cognitive development. Practice or Policy: We propose suggestions for teaching practice and further research.
Descriptors: Preschool Children, Cooperative Learning, Interpersonal Competence, Cognitive Ability, Heterogeneous Grouping, Perspective Taking, Classification, Executive Function, Cognitive Development, Preschool Education, Foreign Countries, Pretests Posttests
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Korea (Seoul)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Social Skills Rating System; Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A